“We don’t have a president anymore”
On the campaign trail, Trump liked to claim “we don’t have a country anymore.” I’ve got a similar idea.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump used to wail that “we don’t have a country anymore” in reference to immigrants “pouring in” from other countries and the U.S.’s “lax” border security. “We don’t even know who these people are.” I would argue that by this “logic,” we don’t have a president anymore.
Beginning today, the office of the presidency will be occupied by a man of “porous” ethical integrity. The office of government ethics needs to fire off tweets to get the Trump-Pence transition team’s attention, since there has been no direct contact. He has not released his tax returns, even though he promised to — we really have no idea who he really is, in terms of wealth, debt, and debtors. He has not sufficiently cordoned off his business interests and associated conflicts. What steps he has taken to separate from his business have simply involved turning over operations to his two sons — but his older children have remained at the discussion table for presidential transition matters and will likely continue to blur the lines. Trump may not even spend that much time in the White House, instead choosing the confines of Trump Tower and Mar A Lago. And I don’t even know how to describe his relationship with Russia and Putin except to say that to most experts his odd reverence for this enemy authoritarian is a “new not normal.”
His supporters will respond to this and say “He’s a businessman, he’s different. He’s built this family business and wants to keep it in the family.” I would say that he is an employee of the American people now, and owes us his full attention—even if it means selling every asset he owns at a loss. Surely the resulting blind trust would be sufficient to re-invest back into the Trump brand in 2020 or 2024, when—if he had done a good job as president—he could re-open the trust, re-invest in a bold and innovative new business, and the presidential sheen on the Trump name would give it even more value. But I suspect there may be more than meets the eye here. Perhaps if he liquidated (or released his taxes) it would become apparent that he is, overall, deeply in the red; and he also has designs on a Clinton-Bush style dynasty involving Jared or Ivanka. In the end, his business is as important or more important to him than his role as president, and he sees them as inter-twined in an oligarchic fashion. There is no other good excuse failing to become the full-time president an electoral majority expected him to be.
Another dangerous breach in the presidential structure is the tweeting. We’ll see how and with what frequency it continues after today, but we can only assume that the words that the entire world often hangs by—the words of the U.S. president—will be doled out in reactionary, 140-character molotov cocktails rather than measured, counseled, well-prepared statements. Just one gem is the “not gonna happen!!!” response to North Korea’s ICBM development claims. I am not certain that approach is useful.
Another hemorrhage is that of honesty and trust. Trump has proven to be a serial conspiracy theorist, whether it’s birtherism or the thousands of Muslims celebrating 9/11 in the streets of New Jersey or right up until the present-day claim that Hillary won the popular vote because of millions of illegal voters. He also appointed two prominent conspiracy mongers in key advisory positions: Bannon and Flynn. Politicians bend and shape the truth all the time, but it is difficult to take one single word Trump says seriously, he’s cried wolf so often. (Could be thousands or millions! SAD!)
Finally, there is simply his track record for how he reacts in a crisis, when his back is against the wall. This is probably the most important “pillar” of a president’s personal makeup, the ability to be decisive when faced with a challenge or threat. Trump’s supporters love how he “hits back,” but insults are an easy cop-out. In the past he has dealt with challenges by filing for bankruptcy, filing lawsuits, making up conspiratorial excuses, concealing information, flat-out lying and, of course, firing people.
Trump is also duping the American people into thinking he’s bringing “change” with his odd-ball cabinet picks. He’s chosen the most incendiary figures possible, folks like DeVos and Pruitt and Price and Perry who all deplore the agency they’ve been assigned to run (and the feeling is likely mutual). This isn’t change, it’s theater. Certainly an outside perspective could bring some change, but it would be much better served in the form of true leaders who want to make the system work better, using ideas from both sides of the aisle. That would also take some courage. Instead we get the cowardice of assigning arsonists claiming to be “shaking things up” when they’re really there to simply burn the left down. A similar cowardly leaning toward the “easy road” can be found in his “thank-you-victory” tour to only the states that he won.
With today’s election day now upon us, the transition book is closed and Trump has officially taken a pass on the opportunity during that period to “pivot” to a more presidential stature. If during the last few months he had released his taxes, properly situated his business in a blind trust, curtailed his tweeting and provocative outreach to foreign leaders, and put a stop to—and even acknowledge and apologize for—his conspiracy-theorist bent, I would have perhaps given him a bit more of a benefit of a doubt. Wishful thinking. That opportunity passed just hours ago, at noon today, and appears certain that it will never come.
